Now Reading: BJP to intensify crackdown after retreat, Frontline says
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BJP to intensify crackdown after retreat, Frontline says
Frontline reports that the BJP’s decision to withdraw the three farm laws was a tactical retreat, not a change of heart, and the party is now preparing to reintroduce similar measures when…
The Story in Brief
Frontline reports that the BJP’s decision to withdraw the three farm laws was a tactical retreat, not a change of heart, and the party is now preparing to reintroduce similar measures when farmers are less organised. The government has already begun detaining protesters, with reports from Bihar and Bengal of arrests for logistics work and a Delhi Police dossier labelling thousands as 'habitual offenders'. Frontline warns that the state will likely use laws designed to keep people in prison without conviction, as it did with the Bhima Koregaon accused and anti-CAA protesters.
On the electoral front, Frontline points to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, which has removed lakhs of names in states like Bihar (65-67 lakh) and Bengal (91 lakh), disproportionately affecting areas that lean opposition. The Election Commission defends the process as due process, but Frontline argues the pattern of deletions targeting opposition strongholds is too consistent to be coincidence.
The Indian Opinion
Triumphalism over the farm law withdrawal misses the point. Frontline’s analysis shows the BJP treats this as a miscalculation to be corrected, not a concession to be deepened. The real test is not whether the government apologises but whether the electoral rolls can withstand independent scrutiny. Will the Election Commission agree to a transparent audit of the SIR deletions in Bihar and Bengal? That number, not a politician’s promise, will tell us if Indian democracy’s machinery is still neutral.
Source: frontline.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
